Flash Flood in Arizona, May 22, 2009

Name: Flash Flood in Arizona, May 22, 2009
Start: 2009-05-22T09:30
End: 2009-05-22T17:30
Location: Arizona

May 22, 2009 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rain caused flash flooding in and around Page. Several roads were closed because of the flooding and erosion.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.

Heavy rain caused flash flooding in and around Page. Several roads were closed because of the flooding and erosion.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 9:30 AM MST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 9:30 AM MST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
930 AM MST FRI MAY 22 2009

.SYNOPSIS...AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL PRODUCE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS...ALONG WITH COOL TEMPERATURES...FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA. A GRADUAL DRYING AND WARMING TREND IS
EXPECTED LATE IN THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&
.DISCUSSION...RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA
THIS MORNING. SOME AREAS HAVE RECEIVED HEAVY RAIN WITH LOCAL
FLOODING IN THE PAGE AREA. WILL UPDATE FORECAST TO REMOVE MORNING
WORDING AS STORMS HAVE ALREADY PRODUCED FLOODING IN AREAS WITH LOWER
POPS FOR THIS MORNING.

&&
.PREV DISCUSSION /300 AM MST/...WV IMAGERY INDICATED THE LOW OFF THE
BAJA COAST HAD DRIFTED EASTWARD WHILE RADAR DATA SHOWED A SECOND
CIRCULATION CENTER WAS LOCATED OVER SOUTHEAST AZ THIS MORNING. IN
ADDITION...A VERY MOIST AND MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL REMAIN
IN PLACE ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST. THESE FEATURES WILL COMBINE TO
PRODUCE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS AZ
AGAIN TODAY AND SATURDAY.

MODELS INDICATE THAT THE MOISTURE PLUME WILL SLOWLY SHIFT EASTWARD
BRINGING A DOWNWARD TREND IN CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY BEGINNING SUNDAY
AND CONTINUING INTO MIDWEEK.

DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL BE ABOUT 8 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE
TODAY BECAUSE OF THE EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND SHOWERS. TEMPERATURES
WILL WARM ABOUT 4 TO 6 DEGREES ON SATURDAY...AND THEN RETURN TO
SEASONABLE READINGS BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

HOLIDAY TRAVELERS TO THE HIGH COUNTRY SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR COOL
TEMPERATURES...RAINY CONDITIONS...AND MUDDY FOREST SERVICE ROADS FOR
THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

&&

.AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...BKN-OVC CLOUD COVER WITH BASES AT
OR ABOVE 10 KFT MSL WILL CONTINUE OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA FOR THE NEXT
24 HOURS. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY WITH AREAS OF MVFR AND ISOLATED IFR CIGS
AND VSBYS OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA THROUGH 07Z SAT.  AVIATION
DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...FOR TODAY...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
CENTERED OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WILL KEEP DEEP MOISTURE OVER OUR
STATE. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH WETTING RAINS ARE LIKELY FOR
AREAS EAST OF A LINE FROM FREDONIA TO BLACK CANYON CITY THROUGH
MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. ON SATURDAY...THE UPPER LOW SHOULD BEGIN MOVING
SLOWLY EASTWARD. MOISTURE WILL LINGER OVER THE NORTHLAND WITH
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING.

SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...THE WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL BE EAST
OF ARIZONA....WITH A DRYING WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. ENOUGH MID LEVEL
MOISTURE WILL LINGER FOR A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES SHOULD FALL TO THE 15-25
PERCENT RANGE THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF
10 TO 15 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

&&

.FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLS FOR THE PAGE AREA UNTIL 3 PM.

&&

PUBLIC.....................DB/MAS
AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER......JVC

VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION.

The radar

The Cedar City radar (KICX), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Coconino

When: May 22, 9:30 AM MST to 5:30 PM MST
Where: Coconino County, 11.68 mi E of (Pga)page Arpt to 0.64 mi N of Kaibito
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.946, -111.239

Heavy rain caused significant flash flooding in and around the city of Page. Several roads were temporarily closed with street flooding in much of the city. One normally dry wash had flowing water 5 feet deep. Copper Road and Highway 98 were impassible for a period of time. Mud and debris were flowing across roads. The greatest amount of rain reported was 3.27 inches from an automated rain gage. The Page Airport ASOS reported 2.01 inches of rain in 24 hours.

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, May 2009

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 170086.